Diaspora, Identity and the Canadian Media: The Case of the Second Polish Corps in World War Two and the Re-settlement of its Veterans in Alberta

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2014-09-30
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Abstract
In the few recent decades, the issue of identity formation has spurred major debates among scholars of various academic backgrounds and specializations, who examined the identity formation of individuals and groups. This thesis explores the process of identity formation in Polish ex-servicemen who chose to reside in Calgary after they fulfilled a two-year long farm work contract in Canada during the early post-WWII years. It examines how Canadian immigration policies and Canadian media impacted the treatment and the portrayal of the Polish ex-servicemen, and it compares their treatment with the portrayal of the returning Canadian veterans. This comparison of the two groups highlights the factors that went into the Polish veterans’ identity formation in this period. Based on a sample of newspaper articles printed in Canada and in Calgary, and interviews conducted with the Polish ex-servicemen, who chose to reside in Calgary after they fulfilled their contract of working on farms, the study examines the differences between media portrayal and self-portrayal in this group The study also examines the role of government policies as a factor in media representation of Polish veterans and how these policies influenced their place in Canadian society. The lingering results of this negative treatment and portrayal indicate the power of such factors to influence identity formation in this group right into the 21st century.
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Mass Communications
Citation
Jaworska, A. (2014). Diaspora, Identity and the Canadian Media: The Case of the Second Polish Corps in World War Two and the Re-settlement of its Veterans in Alberta (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25702